“We have been in constant communication this week with University and government officials,” Sticklin said in a statement. “As the Hurricane’s track has approached the state of Florida, it’s become obvious that playing a football game is not the right thing to do. The focus of our state and region needs to be on evacuations and relief efforts. There is a tremendous amount of stress currently on the roads of this state, and the availability of gas, water and other supplies are at critical levels. Playing a college football game Saturday would only add to that stress.

“Gainesville is also close to some of Florida’s heaviest traffic points this week, specifically Interstate 75, which is a key statewide evacuation route.”

More than 500,000 people in Florida are under mandatory evacuation orders, most of that being the southern most part of the state. With the storm coming from the south, evacuees might have to go farther than they normally would.

“When you look at the impact this event could have, you have to sit back and realize what’s really important in life,” Gators coach Jim McElwain said in the statement. “In this case, we’re doing everything we can to help facilitate with what may occur. We’ve got a lot of kids whose families are in the state of Florida and down south. Our thoughts are with their families, first responders and any individual that may be impacted.”

The two teams don’t have the same open date, so it couldn’t be rescheduled.